The animal trap of this invention is of the trapdoor type and is designed to entrap small animals, such as rodents, in an enclosure by utilizing the weight of the animals to activate a tilting bottom panel in a bait compartment arranged over the enclosure. While the construction and design of the trap are suitable for a wide variety of small animals, it is contemplated that the dimensions and forces required for operation of the trap are alterable according to the particular animal sought to be trapped. For example, the equipment necessary to capture small mice weighing 6 to 8 grams will necessarily be of a smaller scale than that suitable for capturing large rats weighing 1 to 2 pounds.
While trapdoor type animal traps are old in the art, it has been found that conventional counterbalanced tilting panels lack the necessary sensitivity to be fully effective in preventing occasional escape once a rodent senses a tilting of the platform. In general, a counterweight customarily employed to return a platform to its original horizontal position generally provides too great an increment of leverage and occasionally permits a rodent to make his escape. The increment of imbalance necessary to effect a return is particularly significant for the lighter weight rodents and will sometimes exceed the moment of a lightweight rodent at the end of a platform, preventing the platform from tilting.